Make This Right (Y/N x Cassie Howard)

III: Mia

EXHAUSTION TOOK HOLD OF YOU as you walked through the doors of your house. There had been an abundance of paperwork you needed to attend to, and knowing that Cassie Howards was your student didn't help.

The house was eerily quiet, and you feared the worst that Maddy had taken Mia and left you. Even through your tired state, you managed to run up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. Soon, you heard Mia's sweet laughter, and you visibly relaxed. 

You walked towards the source of the giggles you've grown to love and found its owner lying on your bed with Maddy on her side tickling her. This was the sight you thought you'd see every day when you married Maddy, but things don't always work out the way we want them to. And for the first time in a long time, you felt your heart swell at the pride of knowing this was yours. For now, at least Maddy had been acting a little too irritable after that night you went home late.

The thought of losing Mia proved to be too much to bear, and you walked right up to the little girl, hoping to spend as much time with her as possible. There's no saying what Maddy would and wouldn't do.

"Mommy!" Mia screeched so loudly it hurt your ears, but you loved the sweet welcome anyway. You dropped your bag on the floor and jumped on the bed next to Mia and Maddy. Your wife immediately rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, and you knew the reason for her abrupt annoyance right away. 

"Bed off. Now, Y/N. You just got off work. You're still dirty. Change. Now." The look on Maddy's face made a sign that there was no room for discussion. Mia looked at Maddy, then at you, but you gave her a reassuring smile. She hated it when you two fought. So you didn't argue and hesitantly stood up from the bed, walking straight to the walk-in closet that Maddy just had to have. 

When you loosened your tie, you noticed something out of place. A polka-dotted tie was stuffed into one of the pockets of Maddy's jeans. The way it was placed signaled that the owner probably left in a hurry seeing as it lay only halfway hidden. You inspected it closely, willing to the gods that this wasn't what you thought. 

Your suspicions were correct when you took hold of the tie and noticed a red lipstick stain on the knot—that asshole. You already had a sure lead on who the tie belonged to, and it had to be Nate. There was no other guy who was as particular as to wear a multi-colored-polka-dotted tie. You threw the tie on the floor in annoyance. 

You took a steadying breath and continued to strip out of your clothes. Soon, you had changed into a simple v-neck and board shorts. As you were about to leave the closet, you took a picture of the tie and stuffed it back in Maddy's jeans. 

Mia's laughter started up again, and you lost a bit of the anger that had consumed you and walked out of the closet with a smile. This is a losing game, this sham of a marriage, and you knew it. But you were prepared to play the game as long as it took to be able to see your daughter every day.

When Mia heard the door of the closet click shut, she got up from the bed and ran towards you. Her little feet struggled to keep up with her as she tried her fastest to run to you. You immediately took the girl and lifted her into your arms, twirling her slightly. 

Happiness and pride swelled again in your heart as you stared at Mia, but that happiness didn't last long as you stared deeply into Mia's eyes. The same hazel eyes that Nate had, and you shook your head and let Mia down. You were grateful Mia didn't sense you pull away. She's still your daughter. This isn't her fault. You repeated the same mantra day in and day out. 

You suddenly felt the effects of fatigue, and you took Mia's hand and laid both of you down on the bed. The softness of the mattress felt like a warm hug as you snuggled more onto the bed. Again, your happiness was short-lived as Maddy spoke up.

"A girl emailed you. I tried to look for a new backpack for Mia, so I used your computer, and it just popped up. She seemed really eager to talk to you, Y/N. Too eager." Maddy didn't wait for you to respond as she quickly stood from the bed and took Mia with her. You groaned in protest, but Maddy just said, "She needs to eat. Someone has to take care of her." 

You clenched your jaw, and you wanted to shoot back a reply. Maddy was the one that desperately wanted to be a stay-at-home wife, so why was she being so difficult. She's the one that had just fucked someone you specifically asked her to stay away from. But then Cassie's smile suddenly played on your mind, reminding you of how much of a hypocrite you were.

When you heard Maddy close the bedroom door, you immediately went to your bag, opened it, and grabbed your laptop. Quickly, you searched through the email Maddy was talking about, thankful that you synced all your accounts on all devices.

A breath of relief escapes your lips as you realize Cassie was not the one that had sent you that very eager email. But you did want to know more about Cassie. Guilt and shame started to fill your mind as you search for Cassie's name on Google. You couldn't help yourself as you clicked on her Instagram account, the first link to pop up.

Once the page loaded up, there were many pictures of Cassie and some with other girls you didn't recognize. There were also multiple pictures of Cassie wearing bikinis, and you went deeper into her profile. While you were checking out a specific picture of a young Cassie posing with you were assuming her father, you accidentally clicked on the heart button.

Panic raced through you as you immediately unliked the image, but the damage had already been done. She'd know you were cyber-stalking her. Her teacher. Granted, she did sleep with you, but it still felt dirty and wrong. You closed the laptop and went downstairs, hoping to clear your head a bit.

Peace was not an option as you entered the kitchen and found Maddy sitting on one of the stools near the counters. She was feeding Mia a sandwich.

"Oh, what kind is it?" You asked as you had already grabbed two slices of bread. Maddy's head looked back at you with a look of pure hatred. But before Maddy answered you, she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Tuna. Your favorite."

Your shoulders dropped as you regarded that you hated mayonnaise. She had done this on purpose. "I hate mayo."

When Maddy didn't reply, you thought she hadn't heard, but then she said. "I know. That's why I made it. Like it, Mia?" Maddy gave Mia a warm smile as she took the three-year-old from her booster seat and brought her to the kitchen table, away from you.

You sighed deeply as you stared back at your wife, who was running away from you inside your own home. I just hope she doesn't take this running away literally.